1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to standard gutters, such as standard K-style gutters, and a porous or liquid permeable covering device which fits into the top portion of the gutter to prevent debris, such as leaves or twigs from entering the gutter to prevent the gutter from being clogged.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are a number of devices that are employed to prevent solid debris, such as leaves, pine needles, twigs and litter from entering a rain gutter and clogging the gutter. There are a number of shields or filters that are employed to prevent entry of solid debris, but allow water to pass over the filter or shield and enter the gutter. Alternatively some prior art techniques employ a porous filler or filter material that can be inserted into and at least partially fill the gutter. The porous filler material will be liquid permeable so that rain water can flow through the material and in the rain gutter. The pores or openings in such materials are, however, sufficient small to prevent the entry of solid debris that is not dissolved in the rain water or in liquid flowing into the gutter. The solid debris will then accumulate on top of the filler material where it will normally be removed by the wind or by gravity.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,341,891 discloses a device for preventing clogging of a rain gutter by leaves, twigs and other solid debris. This device includes a liquid permeable foam strip which sets on top of a thermoformed support member including a series of arms adhered to the lower surface of the foam member, but leaving much of the foam member unobstructed so that rain can flow through the foam strip and into the rain gutter. The thermoformed support member has a series of legs extending downwardly therefrom to engage the bottom of the a rain gutter, such as a standard K-style gutter, to elevate the foam strip relative to the bottom of the rain gutter. Preferably the foam member is formed from a reticulated foam and the foam member has a thickness so that it will fit in an inwardly facing slot on a K-style gutter.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,855,132 discloses the use of a porous polyurethane foam to fill a rain gutter. Rain water will flow through a sufficiently porous foam filling the rain gutter, but debris, such as leaves and paper scraps remain on the upper surface of the foam filler and cannot enter the rain gutter where clogs typically form. Supports can be provided along the length of the foam filler to leave an open passageway beneath the foam filler and above the bottom of the rain gutter.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0034376 discloses the use of a porous sponge-like filler materials, such as fibers or foam or non-woven materials that can be cut to shape and packed into the gutter.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0247611 discloses the use of a thick mat formed from a nonwoven material including randomly oriented and interconnected fibers or filaments forming open interstices affixed by a binder or coating. This mat is inserted into a rain gutter and in some cases in conjunction with a filter will prevent twigs, pine needles etc. from entering the rain gutter. Openings may be formed between the porous mat and bottom or side surfaces of the gutter to permit flow beneath the mat insert. U.S. Pat. No. 7,208,081 and US Published Patent Application 2006/0037253 show similar gutter filler in which the foam filter material partially fills the gutter.
US Published Patent Application 2001/0037610 discloses a composite gutter guard with a PVC coated fiberglass mesh layer bonded to a polymeric panel having a plurality of filter openings. U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,027 similarly shows a tangled mesh fiberglass bonded to a vinyl sheet that fits over a gutter with the mesh extending below openings in the vinyl sheet.
Even though these gutter filler products are porous, some can restrict the flow in a gutter, and because they must fill a substantial volume of the gutter, they can be relatively bulky and will use a significant amount of a material. In some of these devices an air permeable material must be bonded to a separate support that is in turn mounted in the gutter. It may also be difficult to install these products on rain gutters because roofing shingles may partially obstruct the rain gutters and gutter hangers can present obstructions.